


Spirit Music

by Fabrisse



Category: Lewis (TV)
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, Frightfest 2014, M/M, ghost story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-03
Updated: 2014-11-03
Packaged: 2018-02-23 22:05:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2557379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fabrisse/pseuds/Fabrisse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>James' has a fan.  Robbie sees a ghost.  Laura doesn’t.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Spirit Music

**Author's Note:**

> Written for FrightFest 2014 at lj community: lewis_challenge

**_James_ **

James wasn't certain when he first noticed her. It was several months after Nicky Turnbull had been in town, he knew that. She was an older woman who always sat near the back of their concerts and over to one side. Usually, he could only see her out of the corner of his eye. She didn't come to any of their out-of-town concerts, so she wasn't a groupie, by any means. (And the band did have a couple of those, both male and female, who came to every gig -- even when they played at the Edinburgh Fringe.)

He'd mentioned her once to a bandmate who hadn't recognized the description, but since she tended to sit in the last row, James thought nothing of it.

***  
Soon after Lewis had carried him out of a burning building, James realized their fan was choosing a different place to sit. She still wouldn't sit near other people, but she came toward the center of room, within his direct eyeline. Some nights, he felt as if he was playing for her.

***  
It took weeks for his arm to heal so that he could play a full concert. The bullet had been what the Americans called a "through and through" which meant it damaged the muscle. He could type while he was still in the sling, write within two weeks of getting out of it, but the intricate fingering of the music they played needed nearly three more weeks of daily practice. (Not that he didn't play nearly every day most of the time, but it had been years since he'd needed to practice twice a day for half an hour or more at a stretch.) 

Their first concert after he was well enough to play felt joyous. The easy rapport he had with the band flowed back quickly once he'd been able to rehearse, and on stage it felt like alchemy. Even better, about half the station showed up. The Chief Super had heard them play at a college party with Peterson playing "Mr. Innocent" for the evening. (James and Robbie were among the few who knew there was no Mr. Innocent. Her husband's name was Jonathan Mendip.) 

It was the first time most of his colleagues had heard them. He looked for Inspector Lewis when they first took the stage, but didn't see him. He did see their fan, though. She came to the front and searched the faces of the audience, before taking her customary place. 

He looked for her afterward, but didn't see her before getting swept off to the pub by his colleagues. The Chief Super stood them all the first round.

***  
 ** _Robbie_**

It was one of the rare days he got into the office before Hathaway. Unfortunately, it wasn't before Chief Superintendent Innocent, based on the "My office, now" email he got when he turned on his computer.

"Ma'am?"

"Where were you last night, Robbie?"

He relaxed slightly. "Home, ma'am."

"Alone?"

"Yes. Ma'am, have I been accused of something?"

She sighed. "Only by me. You know that a group of us attended James' concert last night?"

"I heard that Gurdip was going."

"Hooper showed up, too. DC Lockhart, Laura Hobson, and a few others, including myself. The only one missing was his governor." She shook her head. "Seriously, Robbie, _Hooper_ was there and you weren't."

"Did he enjoy it, Ma'am?"

"Who? James?"

"DC Hooper."

"At the pub afterward, he said it wasn't his cup of tea. It doesn't matter, though. He came and stayed through the whole concert."

Robbie said, "I've heard his stuff before, you know, in the car and all."

"Have you ever attended one of his concerts?"

"Not everyone wants their governor around all the time."

She rolled her eyes. "You two are joined at the hip. You eat dinner together nearly as often as you eat lunch together, and you do more of that than any other team in this nick. I really don't think James would worry that you were spending too much time together." Innocent sat down and said, "Get out of my office. And please be diplomatic today. I can't be sure I won't do something rash if you're not."

"Ma'am."

On the way back to his office, DC Lockhart mentioned how much she'd enjoyed the concert. Gurdip was holding forth about it in the break room, and even Hooper said, "Missed you last night. Sergeant University Challenge was actually good."

"Heard it wasn't your cup of tea."

"Maybe not, but sometimes I'll have coffee -- just for a change, sir." Robbie couldn't help but feel he'd been put in his place.

Hathaway was smiling when he came in, and Robbie nearly asked him about the concert. Instead, his sergeant asked him about a piece of missing evidence from a cold case they were working on, and the moment passed.

***  
Robbie sighed. It seemed like the murders of Oxford were getting more sordid, or maybe he was just getting older. Morse had been on his mind a good deal lately, what with Innocent trying to push James into taking the Inspector's exam. 

He saw the flyer for James' concert on the board in the break room. James had smiled when he saw it and said, "It wasn't me, sir."

And it probably wasn't. For all the times Robbie had teased him about it, James didn't really show off much. It was always more understated, like rowing "a bit." Robbie noted the date and time and resolved to attend.

***  
The hall was warm and wood paneled, he wondered if it was intended for music or for lectures or had originally been a common room. He found a seat on the central aisle, not too close to the front and waited for the rest of the audience. It ended up being fairly full, although there was an empty seat next to him.

Sometime after the first song, Robbie realized the seat was no longer empty. There was also a draught in the place, because the temperature plummeted. He shifted in his seat to get his gloves out of his coat, and went still. The woman sitting next to him was the spitting image of Val. 

She put her finger to her lips and smiled. He pulled on his gloves and spent the rest of the concert wondering about who was sitting next to him. The music sounded warmer than it did on CD, and Robbie was surprised when the front man announced that the final song had been written by James. It was a lovely piece that began starkly, but, as surely as winter would become spring, expanded into a warm and tender melody.

Robbie went rigid as he heard Val's voice beside him. "I've been hoping to see you. I expected you sooner. You shouldn't be alone, my love, and I approve of your choice." There was a sharp sensation of cold on his cheek, and then, just as the music came to an end, the cold blossomed into warmth.

When Robbie began to applaud, he saw James smile in delight.

***  
The case with the psychics, where, once again, James had been nearer death than anyone should be, made Robbie think about his own life. Val had been the best wife a man could have, but, ever since that concert, he'd been feeling like he was ready to give that part of life another go. And, if it wasn't just an illusion his mind had created, Val approved of Laura.

While James was away in Serbia, he and Laura finally expanded their relationship. It was comfortable being with her. It was wonderful to lie beside someone through the night.

***  
Retirement wasn't suiting Robbie as well as he thought it would. Too much time and too little to do were not a good combination for someone who'd been pursuing the villains of Oxford for more than thirty years. He was happy that James had taken a much needed vacation and stayed with the force, but he missed the camaraderie. He missed talking to James.

Laura noticed and called him on it, and they resolved to make it a point to see more of James both together and separately. Robbie also looked for volunteer opportunities and other ways to fill his day. 

When Innocent offered him the consulting position, it felt like a godsend. Right up until he realized that James hadn't requested him specifically. He wondered, too about the lad walking the whole length of Spain, only to turn away at the finish. There were moments when everything clicked again, even though James was far from deferent. He liked Sergeant Maddox, but the relationship they were developing didn't have a patch on him and James.

***  
Laura suggested they take in James' latest concert. There'd been a couple of changes to the band's line up, and Robbie enjoyed the newer sound. He agreed.

***  
 ** _Robbie and James_**

Unconsciously, Robbie found himself looking for Val when they got there. It was a different venue, definitely intended as theatrical space, but it looked like it might have been exactly the same in Marlowe's day (thanks to Morse, he knew that Shakespeare hadn't attended Oxford, but Christopher Marlowe certainly had). 

They found their seats, and, while the venue was small, there wasn't a seat empty. The concert was well thought out, and Robbie was nearly certain, based on the one song from the earlier concert, that James had written several of the pieces. At the interval, he glanced around again, wondering if he would see her again, but buying Laura a choc-ice and nipping to the loo meant he didn't have much time.

Afterward, he and Laura waited for James at the back of the hall. He saw Val, looking lost, from a distance and excused himself from Laura. 

He didn't know what to say and was relieved when she began. "Laura. I didn't realize."

"But you told me you approved of my choice."

"I do. Did. I thought… Your heart kept calling to me and I found it…"

"Sir. Robbie. You know our fan." James was grinning as he came up to them.

Robbie looked between them. "Not exactly."

Val touched James' hand, and he flinched as if burned.

"Your music is lovely," she said.

"Thank you."

"Be happy, Robbie. I must go."

"Val?" She wandered away and faded from view.

"Are you telling me that was your wife? Your late wife?"

Robbie nodded and began to say something just as Laura came up.

"What are you two doing standing and talking to a corner?"

"Didn't you see her?" Robbie asked.

"Who? From where I stood it looked like you were facing a corner until James came up. Did you see something, James?"

He just nodded slowly. "For years. I've been seeing her since well before the Phoenix case."

"You've been seeing Val's ghost?"

James looked at Robbie. "I didn't know who it was."

"You're telling me you saw your dead wife tonight?"

"Second time. First was at one of Hathaway's concerts as well."

Laura glanced back and forth between them. "I believe you. Pub, gentlemen?"

James said, "I'm on call as of five minutes ago. I'd rather not drink orange juice."

"Let's just go home, love."

***  
The ride home was silent, but once Laura switched the lights on in the lounge, that changed.

"You've seen Val before?"

"Just the once. Didn't realize it was really her 'til I heard her voice."

There was a long pause. "James saw her, has been seeing her for years."

"I didn't know."

Laura said, "Do you feel like it's working? Us, I mean?"

"'Course I do." He put his arms around her, but she pulled away. "It's comfortable. I love having someone to wake up with."

"So do I, Robbie. I know neither of us was looking for a grand passion…" She chuckled when she caught the expression on his face. "Why do men always think of the bedroom? You're a wonderful lover, Robbie; it's not that at all."

"Then what?"

"We're warm and comfortable, but I've been realizing that I want more. Heat, not warmth, if that makes sense. And, no, I'm still not talking about the bedroom." Laura thought for a minute. "I don't just want you to wake up beside me. I want to be the reason you want to wake up."

"You are."

"No. You've been so much livelier since you've been working again. Your conversations are filled with James, not the nick, not the team, James."

"I've never been… I like women. I love you."

"D'you know that's the first time you've said it. You call me 'love' and I know you care, but, Robbie, you're not in love with me. I know that because I've been slowly coming to the conclusion that I'm not in love with you."

He took a step back. "No grand passion, you said. And you want one."

"Yes, but even more than that, tonight I realized that I may be in the way of a grand passion."

"James. You think me and me old sergeant should be…"

Laura nodded. "He saw Val. Has been seeing her. The other night Sergeant Maddox told me how much he's lit up since you've been around. He's always been a good governor for the technical side, but now she's seeing how he works on the human side. That's you, Robbie."

He sat down. "The first time I saw her, Val said she approved of my choice. It took, oh, more than a year before we finally got together, but I always thought…"

"You thought she meant me. And now you know she meant James." She laid her arm across his shoulders. "I hate being noble. And know this, Robert Lewis, if you muck this up I will come after you with a scalpel. Don't worry about gender or even about whether he wants sex. Go have your grand passion."

"He won't want…"

"If you finish that sentence, I'll go find that scalpel. He wants you in his life. It's up to you two to figure out how it will work." She hugged him to her. "I'll set up the guest room for you."

Robbie just nodded.

***  
It was just past midnight when James heard the knock on his door. He debated whether to call Maddox and see if they'd been called, but the second knock was more insistent.

"Robbie?"

"I… Val told me she approved of my choice. I didn't understand what she meant until tonight."

James rubbed his eyes. "I think I'm asleep."

"You're not, lad. I may be crazy, but you're hearing me say, she meant you."

"And what does Laura think about this?"

"She made up the guest room and told me she thought you and I could have a grand passion."

"Did she?" James stepped closer and reached out. Robbie stepped closer and found himself held tightly. "And you?"

"I think she might be right."

James leaned in and stopped just before their lips met; Robbie closed the gap and gasped in shock at the fervor of James' kiss.

He never did use the guest room.


End file.
